All Good Things Must End – Rest in Peace Lego House

“James May is on a mission to celebrate Britain’s best loved toys, and

celebrate them on a massive scale”

- James May’s Toy Stories

“Massive scale” takes on a new meaning with James May at the helm because in August 2009, James, along with 1,000 volunteers, built the world’s first and largest fully-functioning, two-story Lego House. From Lego furniture and groceries to pets and even a working toilet, believe me when I say this house was built for living – living an exciting life in the house of every Lego lover’s dreams!

Built as part of his BBC program “Toy Stories” on a section of the Denbies Wine Estate in England, the Lego House was constructed from approximately 3.2 million new Lego bricks! Like any enthusiastic architect, James planned to live in his dream Lego home after it was finished, but sadly he never had the chance.

Unfortunately for this legendary Lego lover, the Denbies Wine Estate decided to take back its borrowed land, leaving the Lego House “homeless.” A large support campaign lobbied for the infamous LEGOLAND in Windsor, UK to add the house to its “hall of fame,” but apparently re-construction costs were too high to do so – approximately $80,000 too high. In my opinion, the $80,000 difference in reconstruction cost is a small price to pay for a piece of Lego History, especially when they’re getting a unique masterpiece for free. Sadly, the Lego House was demolished on September 22, 2009.

But, although the Lego House is lost, all hope for Lego lovers isn’t lost. LEGOLAND did take all of the Lego bricks from the house for use at an annual building event that supports The National Autistic Society – and what could be better outcome if the house couldn’t be saved?

So, in the spirit of the amazing Lego house that was, here is an inside look at the demolished structure when it was still standing tall: